Research On China Channel Opportunism Behaviors And Its Governance Strategy

Nowadays, channels have been the strategic asset of the company that can run the show from the faraway with more and more severely competition. That is to say, channel will decide the success of company in the market and progress comprehensively. And so, it's the first and foremost thing to design harmonious and flexible channel relationship to elevate competent power and acquire competent advantage. Unfortunately, the research of channel has been the prominent subject of marketing, but the research of channel opportunism is still lack necessary attention and effort. What's more, it is still on the beginning that lack theoretical fruits and empirical analysis in China. At the point, Chinese manager must think how to take precautions to cope with the challenge from environment and achieve competent advantage through harmonious channel relationship with partners. Only so, China companies can develop at very fast speed.As a call for the conditions, the research tries to solve six problems of two categories: Firstly, it must form and perfect the theory of channel opportunism. And it must solve: 1. Summarize and discriminate the theory base of channel opportunism; 2. Compare and recapitulate the productions of predecessors home and abroad to gain materials and experiences; 3.Research and form the model and framework of channel opportunism, including antecedents, forms and influences. Secondly, it must empirically study the channel opportunism of China and make strategic suggestions based on China industry practice. And it must solve: 1.Collect and synthesize the data of China channel through the constructs and core contents of theory framework; 2. Analyze and form indigenous index to guarantee explaining China channel practice and character; 3. Empirically analyze the antecedents, mechanism's choice during the period of China and differences between different environments.The significance of the research mainly include: Firstly, it is not only summing-up and comparison, but also develops and perfects the theory of channel opportunism. Secondly, it is not only upgrades and transcends the tradition, and also empirically analyses channel opportunism based on China channel practice comprehensively. Finally, it is not only supply systematic support for the research of China channel opportunism and relations, but also supply operation suggestions and analysis perspective for China managers.In terms of channel relation theory, TC theory, organization theory, resource dependency theory and strategic management theory, systemize and compare to explain the status quo, problems, contents and methods through quantitative study combined with qualitative analysis, normative and empirical based on the achievement of pioneers, the dissertation studies channel theory and mechanism strategies. Through theory and empirical study, the main conclusions and contents that the dissertation achieved are included:Firstly, the analysis of the antecedent factors, forms and outcomes of channel opportunism: 1. The positive feedback loop begotten by the buyers'network externality can make sellers"lock-in". The specificity investment of buyers have a significant effects on the seller's opportunism behaviors; 2. The uncertainties of channel environment directly lead to the asymmetrical information problem. And channel information stream have a critical role for shaping channel strategy and channel opportunism; 3. Channel opportunism threatens to the transaction persistence and corrupt accruing long-term benefit; 4. The channel mechanism can mainly be divided into market mechanism, unilateral mechanism, bilateral mechanism, and plural mechanism.Secondly, the analysis of the actual effects of channel mechanism: 1. We must investigate the traditional theory about the effect of governance mechanisms and the conflict of channel structure and channel pattern over again. That is to say, channel manufacturer has the ownership over channel buyers can't necessarily be effective. However, channel partner selection can depress channel opportunism behaviors. The plural governance with ownership and specificity can be useful to govern channel opportunism behaviors. However, the plural governance with ownership and partner selection can't govern channel opportunism behaviors effectively. What's more, specificity investment can't do so either, but its plural governance with ownership can play an important role in governance of opportunism. 2. The selection of governance mechanism must give attention to China channel environment. That means the channel manager must spend necessary efforts on relationship with partners because the legal environment can affects the governance mechanisms significantly. As an example, we can find formal contract will lose its effect under irregular legal environment because it creates conditions for opportunism.The major contributes and innovations of this dissertation are included:Firstly, it validates and develops the traditional theory. 1. Theory validation. The research corroborates specificity investment-the core variable of TCA, and the result tells us if specificity can control opportunism behaviors depend on the extendedness of transaction. It means that short-term orientation will lead opportunism behaviors, and vice versa. It analyzes and extends the theory of tri-mechanism and points out the complexity of integration to depress opportunism because effects decided on the actual contingency. And the theory comes from foreign complete market can't be necessarily useful for the transformation of China. 2. Theory development. The dissertation begins with institution economy, but didn't end in it. It develops and surpasses the traditional TCA framework through importing channel institutional background, time, and relation ongoing into traditional effective analysis framework. And the results show that network embedded ness will affect the selection of governance mechanisms. 3. The analysis framework of channel opportunism behaviors not only becomes completely new concept, but also smoothes away the gap between structure model and behavior model of channel analysis genres. It evolves from the perspective of channel behaviors and finally ends in channel structure.Secondly, it advances new concepts and methods. It initiates and demonstrates that the channel network externality is one of the headsprings of specificity of channel and the main antecedents of channel opportunism behaviors. It puts forward good and bad opportunism by the extreme effects on channel subjects and objects and deepens the analysis of construct of channel opportunism behaviors. And it also deems that can solve the problem of governance of channel conflicts and opportunism through rearing the life-style governance value based on the analysis of the causes and developments. Only so, it can solve the governance of channel opportunism and conflict ultimately.Finally, it focuses on management practice. It points out that we can find new entity beyond the traditional bi-analysis of channel structure and must think much of hybrid governance-norm to governance of opportunism behaviors from the findings of channel practice. It needs not only analyze the micro environment, but also take into account the institutional conditions in the face of China transformational period. In a word, the dissertation tries to entangle how to select mechanisms and make channel relation strategy to give help to management and practice of China channel in a creative way.